Italy
Michele Lazzarini
Contrada Bricconi (Oltressenda Alta, Val Seriana, Lombardy, Italy)
Retrieval of territory and a return to his native country led this Italian chef to give up a three-star outlet and concentrate on a rural tourism project in a tiny mountain village.
With a background in restaurants in several countries and stints at establishments such as Boragó (Chile), Central (Peru), STUD!O (Denmark), Azurmendi (Spain) and Piazza Duomo (Italy), Lazzarini worked as Norbert Niederkofler's right-hand man at the three-starred St. Hubertus, in Hotel Rosa Alpina (San Cassiano, Italy). After 9 years at St. Hubertus he embarked on a project to breathe new life into a rural tourism establishment, where he has created the concept of fine dining amid high mountains. He has not, however, severed his links with Niederkofler, and still works with him on the Cook the Mountain initiative.
A 15-minute drive from Gandellino - where Michele was born - in the Bergamo Alps, in the tiny village of Oltressenda Alta, four friends who were determined to retrieve their territory set up Contrada Briccone, a tourism-related agricultural recovery project which Michele joined to provide a sustainable mountain-cooking gastronomy experience.
At this remote location, Lazzarini focuses on bringing back local cuisine, with minimum intervention on diners' plates and minimum impact on the surroundings.
